It is a revealing fact that the debate on the rule of law in Bulgaria is held in the European Parliament, while the Bulgarian parliament denies that the problem exits. This is what President Rumen Radev said today, taking a journalist’s question. The Head of State recalled the power holders’ and prosecutor general’s attempt to deceive the Bulgarians about the initiative on and topics of a hearing in the European Parliament and the EP caught them in the act.
In the President’s words, this alone is sufficient grounds for the government and the prosecutor general to tender their resignations. Rumen Radev said that all Bulgarians are willing to have the money from Brussels reach the citizens, not fill in Borisov’s drawer or that of some other politician.
The Head of State also stressed that we have long been exposed to a massive propaganda about the success of the government and its irreplaceability as a factor for Bulgaria’s European integration and development. We are yet to realize the scale of damage inflicted on statehood and the Bulgarians’ future namely by the current government and Europe is also starting to realize it. “However, it should be clear to us that the emphasis on the rule of law will have consequences. The future governments and generations would have to pay for Borisov’s sins and the loans raised by the current government,” Rumen Radev said.
In reply to a question regarding what happened in the building of parliament yesterday, the President said that conditions for the government’s tendering it resignation have long existed and it is logical that the protests have been radicalized. “When the public has spelled out its demands, but in return the people and protesters are offended and ignored, some of them are even beaten up, this is a normal reaction. Any protraction deepens the crisis,” the Head of State added. The officers of the National Protection Service, who took protesting mothers out of the building of the National Assembly, were acting on the instructions of the Parliament Speaker, Rumen Radev further recalled. In his words, the big problem is not in the National Protection Service, but in the way the state is governed and in the production of ineffective and lobbyist laws. When a government fails to solve the people’s problems and hides from them, the people go to this government.
“I have long been calling for a legislative amendment which should clarify the basic tasks, the range of action, subordination and the control over the National Protection Service. It is high time this happened,” the Head of State further called on for.
Rumen Radev identified the amendments in the Election Code adopted by the power holders as an attempt to leave open the option of election rigging. In his words, the topic also has an economic aspect, since the decision of the Assembly deputies makes investing in voting machines pointless. “I will categorically impose a veto on this law. Bulgaria is already realizing what is happening and I think the country will not accept yet another manipulation of the election process,” the President further noted.
The Head of State attended the solemn liturgy held on the occasion of the day of faith, hope and love and the day of Sofia in the St. Sophia church. Rumen Radev congratulated all Bulgarians on the holiday and stressed that Sofia is an ancient city, the crossroads of cultures, and should develop respecting our history and with a thought for the people. “I am sure that this city of free people will do its best to ensure that we have a worthy future, not only the city, but also all Bulgarians,” President Radev further said.